Figuring out what skills you need for the job you want.
When figuring out your future what do you picture for your career? Want to work in a factory? Want to be a teacher? The first step you need to do is find out what skills are needed for the career you want. This is a great way to figure out what skills you need and then you should research how you gain those skills if you do not already have the skills needed.
Image foundhttp://calvert.lib.md.us/jobs.html
Check out this site to find out about the job market in Marshalltown, IA.
Choose a specific type of job that interests you, and collect 10 to 20 job ads for that type of job. Whenever possible, choose ads for jobs that are close to the city where you want to work because, in some jobs, employer expectations can vary by location.
Remember, you don’t have to apply to the jobs that are too far away; you are just trying to get a feel for the types of skills, education and experience employers are looking for so you can to determine whether you have everything required to be competitive in the labor market.
Fill out the name of the job you are researching, the date you completed the research, and note places where you found the job ads.
3. Complete the Chart of the Form
Start with one of the job ads, and look for each skill, experience and educational requirement noted in the ad. It can help to highlight each skill with a highlighter if you’ve printed up paper copies of the ads.
Write each item in a box in the column called “Requirement”. Put a 1 in the column labeled “# of Times Requested”. If the ad notes that a skill is required, put a one in the “Required” column. If the skill is nice to have but not required, put a one in the “Nice to Have” column.
Take the next job ad and list or highlight all of the skills, experience and educational requirements noted in job ad number two. If the requirement is already on your chart because it was on the first job ad, put a 2 in the corresponding box under the column “# of Times Requested”, do the same for the columns marked “Required” for required skills and “Nice to Have” for any nice to have skills. Next, add any new requirements that are listed in job ad number two but were not listed in the first job ad.
What path is right for me?
Many careers require post secondary training. Employers want you to come to them with the right knowledge. Explore this site to figure out what post secondary training or education you will need after high school.
Image from http://tinyurl.com/76wl8t7
Federal Student Aid-On this site you will be able to explore different careers, what tests you need to take for the program you want, and this site helps with finding financial aid and applying for college.
Here you can visit post secondary institutions and compare tuition and school size. College Scorecard helps you to compare and contrast schools to help you narrow down your choices.
Practicing for the Entrance Exams.
The following sites will help you practice for the entrance exam you will need to take if you plan to attend a post secondary academic institution.
Most two year colleges require a test called the COMPASS test. Here are two practice test sites for you to try:
Figuring out what skills you need for the job you want.
When figuring out your future what do you picture for your career? Want to work in a factory? Want to be a teacher? The first step you need to do is find out what skills are needed for the career you want. This is a great way to figure out what skills you need and then you should research how you gain those skills if you do not already have the skills needed.
Check out this site to find out about the job market in Marshalltown, IA.
(Information from http://www.careerchoiceguide.com/support-files/job-skills-list.pdf)
1. Collect Job Ads
Choose a specific type of job that interests you, and collect 10 to 20 job ads for that type of job. Whenever possible, choose ads for jobs that are close to the city where you want to work because, in some jobs, employer expectations can vary by location.
Remember, you don’t have to apply to the jobs that are too far away; you are just trying to get a feel for the types of skills, education and experience employers are looking for so you can to determine whether you have everything required to be competitive in the labor market.
Here are different places you can look for jobs:
Local Newspaper Help Wanted Section
Monster.com
City of Marshalltown
Indeed.com2. Complete the Form (link to form)
Fill out the name of the job you are researching, the date you completed the research, and note places where you found the job ads.
3. Complete the Chart of the Form
Start with one of the job ads, and look for each skill, experience and educational requirement noted in the ad. It can help to highlight each skill with a highlighter if you’ve printed up paper copies of the ads.
Write each item in a box in the column called “Requirement”. Put a 1 in the column labeled “# of Times Requested”. If the ad notes that a skill is required, put a one in the “Required” column. If the skill is nice to have but not required, put a one in the “Nice to Have” column.
Take the next job ad and list or highlight all of the skills, experience and educational requirements noted in job ad number two. If the requirement is already on your chart because it was on the first job ad, put a 2 in the corresponding box under the column “# of Times Requested”, do the same for the columns marked “Required” for required skills and “Nice to Have” for any nice to have skills. Next, add any new requirements that are listed in job ad number two but were not listed in the first job ad.
What path is right for me?
Many careers require post secondary training. Employers want you to come to them with the right knowledge. Explore this site to figure out what post secondary training or education you will need after high school.
Federal Student Aid-On this site you will be able to explore different careers, what tests you need to take for the program you want, and this site helps with finding financial aid and applying for college.
College Scorecard
Here you can visit post secondary institutions and compare tuition and school size. College Scorecard helps you to compare and contrast schools to help you narrow down your choices.Practicing for the Entrance Exams.
The following sites will help you practice for the entrance exam you will need to take if you plan to attend a post secondary academic institution.
Most two year colleges require a test called the COMPASS test. Here are two practice test sites for you to try:
1.http://www.act.org/compass/sample/
2.http://www.mycompasstest.com/The three public universities in Iowa requires you to take the ACT. Here are two practice test sites for you to try:
1.http://www.actstudent.org/sampletest/2.http://www.4tests.com/act